Marlon Wayans Runs a New Play with “HIM” — and This Time, Awards Season Better Pay Attention

For years, Marlon Wayans has danced between comedy and chaos — effortlessly moving from the broad strokes of “White Chicks” to the bruised intensity of “Requiem for a Dream.” 

But with “HIM,” the horror-meets-football film that’s got audiences whispering “Oscar,” Wayans is rewriting the scouting report on what Hollywood expects from its funnymen.

It’s not the first time the Oscar conversation has found him. “Requiem” revealed a raw, broken version of Wayans that critics still bring up two decades later. In Aretha Franklin’s “Respect,” he brought nuance and tension to the screen in ways that surprised even his biggest fans. Yet each time, the awards talk fizzled at the goal line — the same way it often does for actors who built their reputations on laughter.

Sure, a few comedy legends have broken through. Robin Williams, Whoopi Goldberg and Eddie Murphy all proved humor and heartbreak can coexist on the same résumé. But those are the exceptions, not the rule — and “HIM” might just be the performance that forces Hollywood to reconsider who gets to be taken seriously.

Wayans’ turn in “HIM” is layered, haunting and stripped of ego — a performance so vulnerable it makes you forget he ever strutted through “White Chicks” in heels. He’s not chasing laughs this time. He’s chasing truth.

And if awards voters are paying attention, they’ll see a narrative tailor-made for Oscar season: a veteran finally breaking free from typecasting, scoring late-career respect on his own terms.

Because after decades of putting in the work, Marlon Wayans isn’t just asking to be in the Oscar conversation… “HIM” demands it.